7.3 Netherlands

In 2022, Dutch citizens and businesses contributed at least €389 million to the national cultural sector through private funding. Although the absolute amount of private funding has hovered around €400 million since 2015, the actual value has declined due to inflation. Adjusted for inflation, the €400 million in 2015 would be equivalent to €512 million in 2023, indicating a substantial loss in the worth of private funding (table 8.1)

The Dutch government aims to support private cultural funding through fiscal and policy measures (see chapter 4.1.4). One key instrument is the Geefwet, which offers additional tax deductions for donations to cultural non-profit organizations. However, there is no evidence that the tax act has actually increased private donations (Bekkers et al. 2021).

Sources of private funding:

• Private funds: In 2022, private funds donated an estimated €244 million to cultural causes. Accounting for a sixth of this amount is the Cultuurfonds, the largest private fund focusing on the cultural sector. From the total of €244 million, €59 million stems from investment returns; the remaining stems from donations by companies and citizens. Therefore, to avoid double counting, we only count the revenue from investment returns.
• Households: In 2022, Dutch households donated €58 million to culture, making up a small portion of the €2.2 billion total given to charitable causes. Around 15% of households reported donating to cultural organizations, with an average donation of €86 per household. Most often, people donate through the website of a charity. However, crowdfunding plays an increasingly important role in household donations. 40% of all crowdfunding donations go to culture, via platforms such as Voordekunst.nl.
• Inheritances: In 2022, at least €29 million was inherited by cultural causes. This amount is likely an underestimation due to limited public data on inheritances. With the aging and relatively wealthy post-WWII generation approaching the stage of wealth transfer, significant increases are expected in the coming decade.
• Businesses: Dutch businesses contributed approximately €150 million to cultural causes in 2022, mostly via sponsorships (€115 million) and to a lesser extent through direct donations (€35 million). Around 5% of companies reported sponsoring cultural causes and 3% reported support through donations. Over the past twenty years, there appears to have been a gradual decline in corporate contributions to culture, with sponsorship clearly decreasing.
• Lotteries: Dutch lotteries are required to donate part of their revenue to good causes. In 2022, the six licensed national lotteries contributed €576 million in total, of which €93 million went to cultural organizations. Of them, the VriendenLoterij is the largest cultural donor, providing €87 million in 2022. Lottery contributions to culture have risen steadily, from €51 million in 2009 to €93 million in 2022. However, the gambling tax increase (from 30,5 to 37,8 percent) that was implemented in 2023, may impact future contributions.

In addition to financial support, volunteer work is a major contributor to the cultural sector. In 2022, one in ten Dutch citizens of twelve year and older volunteered for a cultural organization (VTO 2024). These efforts are difficult to express in monetary terms, but they are essential to the functioning of many cultural institutions.

Table 8: Private financial contributions to arts and culture in the period 2015-2022 (in EUR million

Source: Bekkers, R., S. Koolen-Maas and T. Schuyt (2024) Geven in Nederland 2024: maatschappelijke betrokkenheid in kaart gebracht.

* Using an improved method, including wealthy households.

** Using an improved method, including wealthy households and households with a migrant background.